Easy Air Fryer Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

Air Fryer pumpkin seeds are a fun and festive way to use up all the pumpkin seeds you scooped out when carving your Halloween pumpkin.

Serves: 1 cup Time: 30 Minutes Cookbook: Matt’s Kitchen

Fall is here and we can’t think of anything more festive than carving pumpkins, baking sweet treats, and filling our house with the sights and scents of the fall season. If you’re planning to carve a pumpkin, don’t throw those seeds away! We know pulling out the pumpkin guts and muck is less than appealing, but those seeds can be air fried and crisped up to make a delicious sweet or savory snack.

The recipe we’re highlighting today provides you with a great way to use up the pumpkin seeds you pulled out in order to carve! These make a great snack for the entire family and it’s healthy and nutritious, making it a serious win-win for everyone. With inspiration taken from Taste of Home and the Food Network, we present to you: crunchy air fryer pumpkin seeds!

Jump Ahead:

• ❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• 🎃 Ingredients Needed to Make Air Fryer Pumpkin Seeds
• 🍴 Equipment You’ll Need in the Kitchen
• 🥄 How to Make Air Fryer Pumpkin Seeds
• ♾️ Variations on Air Fryer Pumpkin Seeds
• ❓ Air Fryer Pumpkin Seeds: Tips, Tricks, and FAQs

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Fun: Crispy, crunchy pumpkin seeds are fun to eat and even more fun to make. If you have kids that like to help in the kitchen, recruit them to scoop out the seeds and get them all cleaned off and washed.

Easy: This recipe is super simple and the cooking process is a breeze. All it takes is a few minutes and you’ll enjoy hot and crispy pumpkin seeds.

Customizable: You can make these pumpkin seeds in nearly any flavor you want from savory to sweet. Hop down to the variations section for some fun flavor ideas.

Giftable: If you plan on air frying a bunch of pumpkin seeds, add the finished product to a mason jar and label it. Then take it with you as part of a host or hostess gift for book clubs, Friendsgiving get-togethers, or Thanksgiving celebrations.

Ingredients Needed to Make Air Fryer Pumpkin Seeds

• Pumpkin Seeds: You want fresh pumpkin seeds you scoop from a pumpkin, not the kind you purchase from the store, already roasted and crisped. One large pumpkin (for carving) should give you well over a cup of seeds. If you have smaller pie pumpkins, one 5-pound pie pumpkin should give you just about one cup of seeds.
• Spices: You can choose your spice profile depending on whether you want sweet or savory pumpkin seeds. We choose garlic powder and chili powder, but you could use any combination of spices you like. It’s all up to you and your personal preference.
• Salt: Kosher salt will work great for this recipe.
• Vegetable Oil: We love using extra virgin olive oil to enhance the flavor of this recipe and provide added health benefits. Avocado oil is another excellent oil you can use.

Equipment Needed In the Kitchen

Air Fryer

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Mixing Bowls

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• Air Fryer: We have a Ninja air fryer and love it. We love that it air fries, bakes, roasts, and dehydrates. This is a multi-tool that gets a lot of use in our kitchen.
• Mixing Bowls: You’ll want a one large bowl to scoop all the seeds into, and a second smaller mixing bowl to mix the clean pumpkin seeds, olive oil, and spices.

How to Make Air Fryer Pumpkin Seeds

Air fryer pumpkin seeds are one of the simplest recipes to make! If you have just a few minutes, you can create a delicious, healthy snack in no time.

Scoop out the seeds

First up, wash the pumpkin. Then cut the top off. If carving the pumpkin, then you want to cut a 10-inch hole in the top of your pumpkin. If you have a smaller pie pumpkin like we did, then you’ll cut the top off and cut it in two.

Scoop out the seeds and discard the stringy pumpkin pulp. Set the seeds in a bowl while you finish the job.

Wash and dry off the seeds

Put the seeds in a colander and rinse them under plenty of cold water. Scoop out all the remaining orange stringy bits and discard. Finally, line a bowl with a paper towel or kitchen towel and place the pumpkin seeds on top.

Swirl the seeds around so the paper towel absorbs some of the excess water, then lift the paper towel out and slide the seeds off. Some seeds will stick to the paper towel – just knock them off and back into the bowl.

Note: The seeds won’t be totally dry and that’s perfectly okay. Since we’re air frying, the hot air will quickly dry them out.

Season the seeds

Add the olive oil, salt, and spices to the pumpkin seeds. Stir well with a large spoon or spatula to thoroughly coat the seeds with the spices.

Turn your air fryer to preheat to 360 degrees and program it to run for 15 minutes.

Air fry the pumpkin seeds

Add the seeds to your air fryer basket in a single layer when the machine is ready. Check the progress every five minutes. Depending on your machine, you might find that the pumpkin seeds are ready in around 10-15 minutes.

Check to test for crispness and to prevent them from burning. The right cook time can vary depending on the air fryer unit.

Variations on Air Fryer Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds are so fun to play around with. This cruncy snack can be made savory or sweet, and either option is great! Here are a few variations we love.

Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds: Add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to the pumpkin seeds. Use a flavorless oil such as grapeseed oil, and mix together.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Seeds: Add 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to the pumpkin seeds. Use a flavorless oil like grapeseed instead of olive oil, and mix.

Spicy Pumpkin Seeds: Use cayenne powder instead of chili powder for pumpkin seeds with some kick.

Italian-Flavored Seeds: Add 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning to the seeds and olive oil, and mix well.

Air Fryer Pumpkin Seeds: Tips, Tricks, and FAQs

Even More Air Fryer Recipes

Now that you’ve pulled out your air fryer, why not try one of these recipes, as well?

• Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes: A delicious spin on traditional baked potatoes.
• Air Fryer Chicken Strips: Chicken strips for dinner in three ways.
• Air Fryer Zucchini: A perfect side dish for any meal.
• Air Fryer Apple Chips: A delightful snack that tastes as good as it looks.

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